United States History

What should we say about the United States of America? So much has already been said, adding our two cents is a bit redundant or presumptuous, depending on your perspective. Certainly, no one needs us to outline the facts, the major events and figures, or to describe our unique written Constitution and democratic-republican system.

We can offer a bit of perspective. It's nothing new, nothing we came up with on our own, but it is different from a lot of the prevailing notions about both history in general and our nation in particular.

For starters, there's no specific reference to the U.S. in the Bible. The principles found in God's Word that apply to all nations certainly apply to the United States as well, but we aren't a Christian nation, we don't hold a special place in biblical prophecy, and Manifest Destiny is the result of Enlightenment rationalist views about the Progress of Mankind rather than being rooted in any kind of Christian attitude.

That said, many of the first settlers of the New World were dedicated Christians seeking the right to worship God without the constraints of political entanglement or government-imposed strictures and doctrine. The Pilgrims came in 1620, just 13 years after the first successful English settlement at Jamestown, and the Puritan settlers followed soon after.

Their arrivals and colonization didn't make America Christian, of course. It was a broad continent, largely unknown, and the initial colonies weren't strictly bound together at first, as they were later to become. By that time, things had become substantially more secular, so that by the 18th century many Americans were just as degenerate as their European counterparts. Fortunately, men like Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield were around to preach the true Gospel, and to initiate a revival known as the Great Awakening.

Secular forces were still at work, though. While there were definitely many Christians involved, the American Revolution was largely the result of Enlightenment philosophizing, and men were convinced that America could produce a virtuous and stable population if education and participatory government were enforced. So they rebelled against England, and the United States republic was formed.

Ever since, groups and individuals have tried to call Americans back to their Christian roots. That's the wrong strategy: we don't need to call anyone back to anything, we need to point the way forward to the pursuit of Christ and the bringing of His Gospel and glory to every corner of the earth no matter what our country of origin. That America has been so materially blessed simply means we have more options at our disposal for proclaiming and bringing the Word to the rest of the world.

Our study of United States history is consequently Christ-centered. Not because we think America is more Christian than other countries, but because it (like all other nations) is under Christ's control as King of Heaven and Lord of Time. Of course, you shouldn't abandon study of the facts, people and events, but they only attain true meaning when viewed through the lens of Christ's ultimate plan of redemption and self-glorification.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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354 Items found Print
Active Filters: 6th grade (Ages 11-12), Trade Paperback, Used Books & Materials
100 African-Americans Who Shaped American History
by Chrisanne Beckner
from Bluewood Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Almost Home
Daughters of the Faith
by Wendy G. Lawton
from Moody Press
Historical Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
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Alone Yet Not Alone
by Tracy M. Leininger
Mti from Zonderkidz
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
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American Revolution
America at War Series
by Alden Carter
from Grolier Publishing
Historical Non-fiction for 4th-6th grade
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Amistad: A Long Road to Freedom
by Walter Dean Myers
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Ancient Maya
by Lila Perl
from Children's Press
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Atlas of North American Exploration
by Glyndwr Williams, William H. Goetzmann
Oklahoma Paperbacks Ed from University of Oklahoma Press
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Aztecs
Journey Into Civilization
by Robert Nicholson and Claire Watts
from Chelsea House Publishing
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Bat 6
by Virginia Euwer Wolff
from Scholastic Inc.
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Battle of the Little Bighorn
by Mark Henckel
1st edition from Falcon Press Publishing
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Behind the Blue and Gray
by Delia Ray
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Behind the Blue and Gray
by Delia Ray
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Bentwood Box
by Nan McNutt
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Big Annie of Calumet
by Jerry Stanley
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Birchbark House
by Louise Erdrich
from Hyperion/Madison Press
Historical Fiction for 4th-6th grade
National Book Award Finalist
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Bite of the Gold Bug
by Barthe DeClements
from Puffin Books
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$4.99 $2.50 (2 in stock)
Blackthorn Winter
Monroe Family Chronicles #1
by Doug Wilson
from Veritas Press
Nautical fiction for 4th-6th grade
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Blackthorn Winter
Veritas Maritime Series #1
by Doug Wilson
from Veritas Press
Nautical fiction for 4th-6th grade
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Bold Journey
by Charles Bohner
from Houghton Mifflin
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Bomb
by Steve Sheinkin
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2013 Newbery Honor Book
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Boston Jane
by Jennifer L. Holm
from Scholastic Reference
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Bound for Oregon
by Jean Van Leeuwen
1st edition from Dial Press
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Boy in the Alamo
by Margaret Cousins
from Corona Publishing Co.
Historical fiction for 4th-9th grade
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Boy on the Wooden Box
by Leon Leyson
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Christopher Award
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Boy's War
by David Michell
1st edition from OMF
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$4.00 (3 in stock)
Boys in the Boat adapted for Young Readers
by Daniel James Brown, adapted by Gregory Mone
from Penguin Putnam
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Boys' War
by Jim Murphy
from Clarion Books
Historical Non-fiction for 5th-8th grade
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Bud, Not Buddy
by Christopher Paul Curtis
from Yearling
Realistic Fiction for 4th-6th grade
2000 Newbery Medal winner
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Buffalo Bill
by Helen Cody Wetmore
from University of Nebraska
Biography for 6th-9th grade
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Bull Run
by Paul Fleischman, David Frampton (Woodcuts)
2nd edition from Scholastic Inc.
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in American Civil War Era (1850-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
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Carolina's Courage
by Elizabeth Yates
from Bob Jones University Press
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Children of the Longhouse
by Joseph Bruchac
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Children of the Wild West
by Russell Freedman
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Children's Stories
Tales of the Wild West Volume 6
by Rick Steber
from Bonanza Publishing
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Christopher Columbus
Sowers Series
by Bennie Rhodes
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Civil War
by Janet Cassidy
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Civil War
by Pat Wesolowski
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Civil War Days
American Kids in History
by David C. King
1st edition from John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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Civil War for Kids
by Janis Herbert
from Chicago Review Press
Activity Guide for 4th-7th grade
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Civil War Heroines
by Jill Canon
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Claudette Colvin
by Philip Hoose
from Square Fish Publishing
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2010 Newbery Honor Book, 2010 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book, National Book Award
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Colonial America
for 4th-6th grade
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Colonial Kids
by Laurie Carlson
1st edition from Chicago Review Press
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Colonial Town: Williamsburg
by Bobbie Kalman
Revised from Crabtree Publishing
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Columbus and the Renaissance Explorers
by Colin Hynson
from Barron's
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Columbus Discovers America - Coloring Book
by Peter F. Copeland
from Dover Publications
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Come On, Seabiscuit!
by Ralph Moody
from University of Nebraska
Biography for 5th-9th grade
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Courage to Run
Daughters of the Faith
by Wendy G. Lawton
from Moody Press
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Cowboys
Tales of the Wild West Volume 4
by Rick Steber
from Bonanza Publishing
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$2.50 (1 in stock)
Cowboys of the Wild West
by Russell Freedman
from Sandpiper Books
Non-fiction for 4th-8th grade
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Cowboys of the Wild West
by Russell Freedman
from Scholastic Inc.
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Daniel Boone
by Daniel Boone
from Applewood Books
Biography for 4th-8th grade
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Daniel's Story
by Carol Matas
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Darkness Over Denmark
by Ellen Levine
from Scholastic Inc.
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
Davy Crockett
by David Crockett
from Applewood Books
Biography for 4th-8th grade
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Diary of an Early American Boy
by Eric Sloane
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Diary of an Early American Boy
by Eric Sloane
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
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$12.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Civil War
by John Stanchack
from DK Publishing
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Douglas Macarthur: American Hero
Book Report Biographies
by Barbara Silberdick Feinberg
from Franklin Watts
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Down Ryton Water
by E.R. Gaggin
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
for 4th-6th grade
1942 Newbery Honor
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.50 (2 in stock)
Drive Thru History America with Dave Stotts: Foundations of Character - Book Only
by David Barton
from Tyndale House
for 6th-10th grade
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$6.50 (1 in stock)
Early Thunder
by Jean Fritz
from Puffin Books
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Eating the Plates
by Lucille Recht Penner
from Aladdin Paperbacks
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$4.50 (1 in stock)
Education of Little Tree
by Forrest Carter
from University of New Mexico Press
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$3.00 (2 in stock)
Elijah Of Buxton
by Christopher Paul Curtis
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
2008 Coretta Scott King Author Award Winner, 2008 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Ellis Island
You Choose Books
by Michael Burgan
from Capstone Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Era of Modernization Through the 1930s
by Kathy Sammis
from Walch Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Eric the Red & Leif the Lucky
by Barbara Schiller
from Avyx, Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$4.50 (4 in stock)
Europe Finds the World
Cambridge Introduction to World History
by Trevor Cairns
from Cambridge University
for 6th-9th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Everything You Need to Know About American History Homework
by Anne Zeman & Kate Kelly
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$5.50 (2 in stock)
Explorers News
The History News
by Michael Johnstone
from Candlewick Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$6.99 $4.50 (4 in stock)
Explorers Who Got Lost
by Diane Dreher
from Tor Classic
Non-fiction for 4th-8th grade
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$5.00 (2 in stock)
Explorers Who Got Lost
by Diane Sansevere-Dreher, Illustrated by Ed Renfro
from Starscape
for 4th-8th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Faith Unfurled
from History Compass
for 4th-8th grade
in Pilgrims at Plymouth (Location: HISA-17PIL)
$7.95 $5.57 (1 in stock)
Fall of Quebec
by George Ochoa
from Silver Burdett Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Canada (Location: HISMC-CAN)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Famous Figures of the American Revolution
from Figures in Motion
for Kindergarten-6th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$12.00 (4 in stock)
Fighting Ground
by Avi
from HarperCollins
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
First Four Years
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
1st edition from Harper & Row
for 3rd-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$1.50 (1 in stock)
Flight of the Nez Perce
Highlights from American History
by Bill Schneider
Revised from Falcon Press Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in Native American History (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Focus on Presidents
by Cynthia Holzschuher
for 3rd-7th grade
in American Presidency (Location: HISV-PRE)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
For Home & Country
by Angela Herb & Norman Bolotin
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in American Civil War Era (1850-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$3.50 (2 in stock)
Fort Clatsop
by Daniel J. Dattilio
from KC Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
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$4.50 (2 in stock)
Francis Scott Key
Sowers Series
by David Collins
from Mott Media
for 5th-7th grade
in Sowers Biographies (Location: BIO-SOW)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Free Indeed
by Mark Sidwell
Expanded from Bob Jones University Press
Biography for 6th-12th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Freedom Walkers
by Russell Freedman
from Holiday House
for 4th-6th grade
2007 NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book
in Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968) (Location: HISA-20CIV)
$14.99 $8.50 (1 in stock)
George Washington
Sterling Point Books
by Sterling North
from Sterling Publishing Co.
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
George Washington
Sowers Series
by Norma Cournow Camp
from Mott Media
Biography for 6th-8th grade
in Sowers Biographies (Location: BIO-SOW)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
George Washington & the Founding of a Nation
by Albert Marrin
from Dutton Juvenile
for 6th-10th grade
in New Nation (1783-1801) (Location: HISA-18NN)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
George Washington Carver
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Ghosts of the White House
by Cheryl Harness
for 3rd-6th grade
in American Presidency (Location: HISV-PRE)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Give Me Liberty!
by Russell Freedman
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-9th grade
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
Give Me Liberty!
by Russell Freedman
from Scholastic Press
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in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Gold Cadillac
by Mildred D. Taylor
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Gold Cadillac
by Mildred D. Taylor
Reprint from Puffin Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Gold Rush Fever
by Barbara Greenwood
from Kids Can Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Gilded Age & Progressive Era (1877-1918) (Location: HISA-19GI)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Grandpa's Stories
Tales of the Wild West Volume 10
by Rick Steber
from Bonanza Publishing
for 4th-7th grade
in Western Expansion (1800-1898) (Location: HISA-19WES)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Great Fire
by Jim Murphy
Later Printing from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in 19th Century America (Location: HISA-19C)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Great Wheel
by Robert Lawson
from Walker and Company
Realistic fiction for 4th-8th grade
1958 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99 $6.00 (2 in stock)
Great World War II Projects You Can Build Yourself
by Sheri Bell-Rehwoldt
from Nomad Press
for 4th-9th grade
in World War II (1939-1945) (Location: HISA-20WW2)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Guests
by Michael Dorris
from Hyperion/Madison Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$3.49 (1 in stock)
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